LACTE
is the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence.
Our original vision:
"LACTE seeks to elevate the status and the practice of teaching.
LACTE views teaching as a developed art through which teachers connect
with students and enable them to learn. Through improved
pre-service teacher education and training, LACTE will produce teachers
who have a solid foundation in disciplinary content and skills to engage
their students. These teachers will learn how different learning
styles impact a student's development, explore ways to teach a diverse
audience, and know how to connect science and mathematics to the broader
world. At the same time, LACTE will foster a change in the culture
of higher education to a position that values the profession of teaching
at all levels. LACTE will actively recruit and support pre-service
teachers, particularly those from underrepresented groups. All of
LACTE's efforts will help increase the number of teachers by making
teaching a more attractive profession, and by reducing barriers to
completing the education needed to join the profession." (LACTE
Brochure, 1996)
This website looks back over the six years of the LACTE project.
It supports the conclusion that while LACTE's original goals grew more focused and mature over
time, the project remained true to its original vision.
Goals:
- Increase the number of students, particularly
those from underrepresented groups, who pursue a career in
mathematics or science teaching.
LACTE involved about 400 future and new teachers each year, recruited
from science and math classes, student clubs, campus publications,
counselors, LACTE events, and word of mouth.
The demographics of LACTE students mirror those of the students
in the LACTE schools: approximately 1/3 Hispanic, 1/3 Anglo, and 1/10
African American.
Recruitment Strategies
Final summary report from LACTE to the
National
Science Foundation
- Refine the present course of study at each
participating institution to reflect recent research and
developments in mathematics and science education.
LACTE has directly supported the revision or design of 25 ongoing
courses and modules for science and mathematics classes that enroll
future teachers. These
courses are hands-on and minds-on, student-focused, utilize a variety of
instructional approaches, and employ assessment appropriate to the
teaching approaches and the course goals.
Curriculum
Innovations
Institutional
Reform
- Integrate science, mathematics, and technology
into pre-service courses for future teachers.
Students enrolled in LACTE courses will have experienced how technology
can be integrated artfully and purposefully into the course of study.
Future teachers will experience how technology can and should be
used to enrich educational experiences for the students they will
eventually teach.
Curriculum
Innovations
- Provide a rich experiential component for future
teachers.
Providing rich and broad pre-professional activities was an important
component of the LACTE project. Future
and new teachers attest that these provided worthwhile information and
academic and career-oriented experiences that were valuable resources as
they continue to work toward a teaching position.
Future
and Novice Teacher Activities
- Maintain a support network for
prospective teachers.
Through activities and events, college and K-12 faculty, future and new
teachers established connections to role model teachers, professional
organizations, and others with similar career goals that will last long
after the LACTE project.
Future
and Novice Teacher Activities
- Elevate the status of teaching and educational
reform within the culture of higher education.
The most important permanent outcome achieved through the LACTE project
is the change in the hundreds of faculty who have participated in
various aspects of the project. In
turn, their
influence is evidenced by a higher visibility on department and college
committees and at professional organizations.
LACTE fellows are now in elevated faculty and administrative
positions that enable them to have greater impact on educational and
institutional policy.
Faculty
Development
Institutional
Reform
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